A former Director General of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), Colonel Peter Obasa (retired), has appealed to the Nigerian Army to pay his gratuity and pension 35 years after he was compulsorily retired from service.
He made the disclosure while speaking to journalists in Ilorin, last Thursday.
The 81-year old, who served as NYSC DG between 1979 and 1984 explained that he received no letter of dismissal from the Army that may have warranted the nonpayment of his entitlements.
He appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari and the leadership of the Nigerian Army to come to his aid.
The octogenarian, who presented a book, titled, ‘House of Exile’, during the press conference, chronicled his experiences in 1984, his prison accounts, the nation’s democracy, and the judiciary.
“The Federal Republic of Nigeria official gazette, No 56 of November 6, 1986, under Ministry of Defence, Nigerian Army officers, voluntary/compulsory and dismissal page 1340 declares that I was compulsorily retired from the Army. Under that condition, I should be entitled to my gratuity and pension but the Army has denied me both.
“They claim that I was dismissed. If that was the case, a letter to that effect would have been served on me, and the army would have withdrawn my officer’s sword, ceremonial dress, mess jacket and service suit. I received no letter, and I am still in possession of the items mentioned above.
“Like President Buhari, I am favoured by God. I fought through the tumultuous and terrifying period of my trial and more than seven years in incarceration, and I am here by the special grace of God to ask for true justice. The world wrote me off, some claiming that I would not exit the jail house. How wrong they are. God Almighty fights for the innocent”, he said.
Obasa described his trial by the Supreme Military Council (SMC), headed by General Muhammadu Buhari, as “illegalities of 1984”, saying that the SMC promulgated decrees that had retroactive effect.
